Early-age strength and long-term performance of asphalt emulsion cold recycled mixes with various cement contents

Abstract

Cold recycling with asphalt emulsion is an economical and environment-friendly technology for asphalt pavement maintenance and rehabilitation. This study aims to investigate the early-age strength and long-term performance of the asphalt emulsion cold recycled mixes with various cement contents, as well as the correlation between the early-strength and long-term performance. To achieve this objective, three research tasks were conducted, including: 1) quantifying the early-age strength of four types of asphalt emulsion cold recycled mixes by measuring their cohesive forces and raveling loss rates through the Hveem cohesion test and raveling test, respectively; 2) characterizing their long-term performance properties, including moisture stability, high-temperature stability, and low-temperature cracking resistance; and 3) developing the correlation models between the early-age strength and long-term performance of asphalt emulsion cold recycled mixes through regression analysis. It was concluded that adding cement in cold recycled mixes played positive effects on both its early-age strength and long-term performance. In addition, strong linear correlation was found between the early-age strength and long-term performance of asphalt emulsion cold recycled mixes.